Things to do in London this weekend (October 24-25)

Halloween is here! And with October 31 falling on a Saturday this year, we’re in for a ghoulishly good time without the haunting prospect of work the next day, so it’s no surprise that Halloween parties seem more plentiful and extravagant than ever this year. But there’s plenty more spooky fun to be had around London if you don’t fancy a night of the raving dead. Instead, you could let your synthetic wig down at a scary movie screening, join a lantern-lit ghost tour, learn about London’s graveyards, carve a pumpkin or check out a spooky old museum after-hours. So when you’re after something strange in your neighbourhood, who ya gonna call? Time Out London, that’s who! Here’s our list of the best Halloween events London has to offer in 2026. 

This year’s London Literature Festival continues with pop star and Service95 Book Club founder Dua Lipa in the hot seat, curating all the events. This week, her line-up includes a discussion about sound and rhythm in writing with Kae Tempest (Oct 30), a talk on censorship and the politics behind it with award-winning journalist and author Oliver Bullough (Oct 31), a conversation about how to write male tenderness (Oct 31), and much more, including workshops, panels and performances. 

Bar Blondie, a demure bistro in posh northwest London neighbourhood Queens Park, is wilfully attractive. It’s the latest arrival on the extremely cute Lonsdale Road, a semi-pedestrianised stretch of converted Victorian stables. The inspiration? For some reason, it’s spaghetti westerns, meaning Ennio Morricone’s rousing Ecstasy of Gold plays on a loop in the loos, there’s a solid pasta menu, and the bistro’s name itself, a tribute to ‘Blondie’, Clint Eastwood’s antihero in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Head Chef Alastair Walling learned his trade at some of London’s best and it shows. The veal tartare nicoise tastes exactly like a Big Mac, in the best possible way. There’s a dish of torched mackerel too, and big, buttery sheets of handmade fazzoletti are dressed generously with crab, chilli and lemon.  

Master mentalist Derren Brown is back on the West End, this time with a disorienting show that sets out to challenge the illusion of free will and our ownership of the future. Pretty classic Brown stuff, right? But, the thing you can always expect from Brown is the unexpected. His stunts, however routine they might be, still manage to confound. The first half of Only Human cycles through a circus of tricks, it’s disorienting but still buoyant, thanks to Brown’s excellent comedic timing and disarming warmth. The second half takes a drastic turn; a sense of alarm no doubt helped by masterful stage effects, lighting and sound design, but largely down to Brown taking some of his more extreme psychological manipulation to the stage. Without giving too much away, trigger warnings were issued, and every mouth was agape. As with any Derren Brown show, you’ll leave deeply impressed by the man’s showmanship and aptitude for human manipulation.

If you like your arthouse cinema thematically rich yet concise, Pawel Pawlikowski (Ida) has made another of his 80-minute opuses for you. Like a conjurer with a bottomless top hat, the Polish filmmaker packs more into this short-yet-stately monochrome historical drama than others manage in twice the time. When Fatherland reaches its beautiful, pin-drop final scene, your mind will be spinning with ideas of home, grief, art, war guilt, memory, ideological conflict, and family bonds and traumas. Fatherland is an elegant, engrossing film; chilly at times, but also poignant as repressed feelings finally bubble to the surface. This is another expansive, enriching work from a modern master. 

Agatha Christie is widely regarded as the greatest ever crime novelist, and the Queen of Crime will be under investigation herself during the British Library’s 2026 season. Coinciding with the centenary of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, one of the prolific writer’s most important and influential novels, the autumn exhibition will delve into the origins of iconic characters Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, while also exploring the the eclectic range of interests that inspired the English author’s works, from archaeology to pharmacology, and illustrating the profound impact her ouevre continues to have on the whodunnit genre. 

London’s newest – and cultiest – picturehouse, Clerkenwell’s Nickel Cinema is celebrating its first ever Halloween in style this October. A thoroughly DIY affair, the grindhouse cinema specialises is the perfect place to catch some niche horror picks. You won’t find Hocus Pocus and Ghostbusters on the programme here; instead, expect slashers, sexploitation films, Italian murder mystery, German industrial cinema and B movies galore, all leading up to an all-day marathon on October 31. Beginning at 2pm on Halloween, the two-day Nickel Cinema Psychotronic Halloween Movie Mash will feature eight horror movies from around the world (which will all remain a secret until showtime) and an exclusive poster sale. Costumes are very much encouraged!

In Danny Lee Wynter’s new play, based on his own experiences, we’re in a big, busy family home in Ilford – both in 1995 and in 1980. In the 90s, Ted (an impressive stage debut from Leo Whitfield Harris) is an awkward, mixed-race teen trying to work out his place in the world. Wynter’s dialogue feels like it could be lifted straight from a sitcom; we get all the colour and expletives you’d expect from a close-knit family, fractured by clashing personalities and worldviews. Drawing the lines between the people we were in the past and the people we become, Wynter has written something wise, witty and packed with big feelings. 

This atmosphere-heavy, nostalgia-suffused second show from Singapore-raised comic Hao deliberately intercuts the mythic and the mundane – the arty stuff and the gags – as it details his longing for home as his moves to unfamiliar London. It’s certainlty quite a different style of comedy but it is funny as well as the more out there stuff, and it bagged Hao an unexpected but not unwelcome place of the Edinburgh Comedy Award shortlist this Fringe.

South London’s World Heart Beat Music Gardens is cementing its credentials as a hidden gem venue in the capital, with its inaugural Silk Road Music Festival. Across three months, the programme will span genres across continents, cultures and centuries with sets from internationally acclaimed artists all celebrating the rich artistic traditions that flourished along the historic Silk Road. This week, listen to pianist Siqian Li and Guzheng player Kang Yang, who will explore Chinese classical traditions through music. 

This wickedly fun monologue from Georgina Collins – aka burlesque performer Strawberry Duvall – slips down almost indecently easy. The body count is… not low, as Collins details how her meek, mousy protagonist becomes overtaken by terrible cravings that can only be slaked by literally devouring the various men who intrude upon her quiet existence. But the wide-eyed Collins has such a delightful, almost screwball comedy charisma to her that even in the blood-soaked show’s gristliest moments Grainne Robson’s production feels enormously fun, as our heroine skedaddles from the demise of one toxic man to the next. Succubus has a really great time gesturing at something serious: misogyny has never been so fun!

Leicester Square is well used to becoming a glimmering Christmas hub each winter. Every year, stalls serving steaming mulled wine and warm mince pies, and huts decked out with traditional Christmas gifts pop up next to the spiegeltent, where entertainment is provided courtesy of alternative circus and cabaret show La Clique. But now, for the first time, there’ll be an open-air ice rink slap bang in the middle of it all. The new rink will encircle the square’s Shakespeare statue and suurounded by the familiar Christmas market stalls. It’ll be London’s only ice rink offering skate sessions every 15 minutes, available for both bookings and walk-ins. 

The internationally renowned dance-circus company Motionhouse comes to Sadlers Wells East. Known for their site-specific and multimedia productions using projections, Motionhouse combines thrilling and gravity-defying circus tricks with energetic contemporary choreography. Hidden explores how, in an increasingly divided world, light can come out of darkness in times of crisis. 

Ghosts: The Possession of Button House, which rejoins the BBC show’s daffy, bickering band of spectres (played by theatre collective Them There/Horrible Histories gang plus the brilliant Lolly Adefope), who are eternally stranded in a semi-rural mansion. Thankfully, it faithfully imbibes the original series’ cocktail of cosy-comedy charm, cheeky edginess, political/social commentary, winking risqué-ness and light-touch sentimentality. It maintains a steady flow of pleasantly gentle chuckles, right up to the moment when you realise you’re shedding a tear or two because, damn their eyes, you really do love these silly characters. It’s a delightful, Ealing-esque caper with added body-swap shenanigans. 

This cult Irish immersive horror show involves passing through two dimly lit, twisty-turny mazes in which a seemingly endless stream of abominations leap out at you from any given corner. The mazes don’t so much have plots as themes. In Sundown Manor you’re invited to dinner with a coven of witches. It’s all very well done, as you push through decrepit halls and rotting sides of meat (NB fake) while being constantly menaced from the shadows. In Avery Hill Asylum you’re edging through a chaotic madhouse where the patients have been experimented upon by Dr Thorne. The Nightmare Realm isn’t exactly subtle, but it’s very well done and you are simply not going to beat it for sheer volume of scares.

From the set recreation photo opps outside the venue to the stunt casting of a former teen heartthrob (McFly’s Harry Judd) and original supporting cast member (KayCee Stroh) in the adult roles, High School Musical (the musical) is being aimed squarely at millennials. But as cheesy exercises in nostalgia bait go, the Manchester Hope Mill production of High School Musical is about as impressive as they come. It’s a mammoth undertaking, with an astonishing ensemble, slick choreography by Aaron Renfree, and impressive leads. You can’t watch and not be wowed. Even the most casual viewers will find something to love in this visually enthralling production.

Two couples of wildly contrasting means connect awkwardly in Lee Chang-dong’s perceptive and empathetic new drama. The Korean filmmaker delivers an absorbing parable about the ruin wreaked by late capitalism. It’s a four (and a bit)-hander that blossoms over its 164-minute runtime into a gesture of defiance for uncertain times. It makes for a slower burn, less tumultuous companion piece to Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice and Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite. Together, they form a bleak triptych of modern fables that show society stratifying in increasingly insurmountable ways.

Poly Styrene, Chrissy Hynde, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Debbie Harry; as part of the city-wide Up Yours! Festival, the Museum of Youth Culture will celebrate the women behind the punk movement with a landmark exhibition. God Save The Queens celebrates the legacy of Poly Styrene, the visionary frontwoman of X-Ray Spex. It will bring together rare and previously unseen artwork, photography, fashion and personal archival material, with highlights including the Poly Styrene Archive, original artworks by radical feminist photographer Linder, previously unseen artwork from X-Ray Spex saxophonist Lora Logic, and archival fashion pieces from the iconic pink-haired designer Dame Zandra Rhodes. 

Marie Antoinette was Sofia Coppola’s third feature, following The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation, and marked a serious step up in scale, with a 250-strong credited cast and crew. Twenty years on, this documentary celebrates both the film and her late mother Eleanor, who spent her life among filmmakers before releasing her first feature, Paris Can Wait, at 80 in 2016. Sofia has explained that her mother’s 80-odd hours of footage were first trimmed into a DVD extra. Lockdown prompted the pair to revisit it, and Sofia completed the project following Eleanor's death in 2024. Though the footage is clearly amateur, it’s disarming to feel so close to a cult classic in the making. This charming love letter to a universal relationship is proof that even Hollywood filmmakers can squabble with their mums, and love them regardless.

Jordan Fein’s lavish revival of Sondheim’s subversive fairytale musical Into the Woods spent last year packing out the Bridge and hoovering up Oliviers. Now it’s crossed the river to the Noël Coward with a mostly new cast, and it’s every bit as good. Sondheim and book writer James Lapine throw Cinderella, Jack, Rapunzel and Little Red Riding Hood into the same forest as a childless baker and his wife, and then ask what happens after ‘happily ever after.’ It’s the show’s first West End run since 1991. Kate Fleetwood is back as the Witch and she owns every inch of stage. While, John Dagleish and Laura Pitt-Pulford are new as the Baker and his Wife, and they’re a lovely match. Gracie McGonigal returns as Little Red Riding Hood and is still a joy, full of youthful cockiness, the kind of girl who’d square up to a wolf and fancy her chances. Speaking of which, Matthew Seadon-Young’s Wolf isn’t on stage for long but makes every second count. It’s a wordy, fiddly, nearly three-hour musical about fairytales, and somehow it flies by. 

After a recent spate of pretty weird London Chekhovs, here’s reliable old master of naturalism Ian Rickson with a typically elegant take on the latter play. Although that’s not to say this Cherry Orchard is a bog-standard linen-suits-and-samovars job. Far from it. Adapting playwright Conor McPherson cranks up both the bitter and the sweet as he massages the plot and dialogue for some big laughs. More importantly, there’s an absolutely storming performance from the perennially underestimated Stephen Mangan as Yermolai Lopakhin. A self-made man of humble origins, his relationship with the lofty but impoverished household of Lyubov Ranevska (Kristin Scott Thomas) is the complicated heart of the play. There are some very funny performances. But it’s the more painful emotions that linger in the splendid central turns from Scott Thomas and Mangan, the sense of people too in love with a perfect past to ever truly embrace an imperfect future.

Doc’n Roll Film Festival shines a spotlight on some of the movers and shakers who’ve lit up the music world with intriguing and eclectic sounds via an 18-day programme of music documentaries covering a wealth of genres and scenes. The 13th edition of the festival boasts 21 feature documentaries and five shorts, with screenings often accompanied by Q&As with the musicians and/or filmmakers, and even one or two live performances. Highlights this year include an Opening Night screening of Wolf, Christian Cargill’s portrait of English singer Patrick Wolf, the world premiere of Peven Everett: Voice of a Generation, documenting the Chicago musician’s pioneering impact on house music, and Kevin Wright’s Punk Brighton, documenting the lively punk scene that revolved around legendary Brighton music venue The Vaults in the ’70s and ’80s. There’s something for everyone, basically. Unless you don’t like music, you big weirdo.

Helen Edmundson’s new play Some Woman is described as a thriller, but the experience of watching it is more like a slow strangulation – one that leaves you feeling thoroughly shaken and queasy on the other side. Anne-Marie Duff plays Julie, a downtrodden mother and divorcee, who puts everyone before herself to such a degree her own needs and opinions are barely a footnote in the minds of her family. The Jodie Comer-starring Prima Facie showed us how the British legal system is stacked against women in cases of sexual assault. Edmundson’s play posits that women beyond ‘a certain age’, as they’re so often described, are not only invisible to society, but dangerously vulnerable once they're no longer deemed of value to men. This is feminist theatre that serves justice to its case. 

The key to what makes Daniel Bailey’s touring revival of August Wilson’s 1985 play so good is how intimately devastating it is. The sweep of the generational and national tragedy so deftly portrayed by Wilson is always anchored by its impact on one family. At this production’s heart is Ray Fearon as Troy, a fiercely proud Black man whose struggle to support his family and anger at the racism of 1950s America, on the cusp of painful postwar change, becomes destructively entangled with his inability to let go of the past. As he relentlessly builds a fence around his home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is he keeping the world out or trapping his family inside? This revival powerfully evokes the painfully human impact of a country with its boot on the neck of people lost or never given a chance. It’s a play with a scorching emotional landscape.

The thrill of slogging up three flights of steps to the Royal Court’s tiny experimental Upstairs studio is that you never know what you’ll find at the top. Happily, debut playwright Joy Nesbitt’s excellent ancestry drama has a scenario that bites from the get-go and never relaxes its grip. It unfolds in a slave cabin on a cotton plantation in South Carolina, which is now a trendy Airbnb complete with Live Laugh Love poster and a pregnant White superhost Nora who is painfully anxious to welcome Talulah, a young Black Londoner into this devastatingly awkward space. Tallulah is here to commune with her ancestress, Ginnie Good, a slave who birthed eight children in this very cabin. Nesbitt conjures up cringe comedy; morally bankrupt personal drama; cultural satire; pathos and female heroism and hair-raising spiritual connections. It’s a thoughtful, touching, intelligent, funny and disarmingly gentle drama. 

Marking 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the founding of the United States, the Science Museum’s new free exhibition is casting an eye on how science and technology shaped the development of the United States of America. Across the exhibition, you’ll find stories of how Anglo-American colonists, enslaved and free people of African descent, and Indigenous Americans used their knowledge, skills and tools to live, cultivate the land and exert power. Look out for a rare surviving copy of the Declaration, notable items used by King George III and George Washington, and a pioneering map made by Benjamin Franklin, which will be among over a hundred objects on display in an exhibition created with the support of the Library of Congress.

Dulwich Picture Gallery’s new exhibition will give visitors a chance to see the complete series of one of the most celebrated image cycles in art history, giving us the chance to see Mount Fuji as Hokusai saw it nearly two centuries ago. Hokusai: Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji brings one of the world’s most iconic print series to London. Created between 1830 and 1833, the exhibition presents, for the first time in the UK, the complete set of Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji by Katsushika Hokusai, Japan’s most celebrated printmaker.

Kew’s Halloween trails – from the producers of Kew Gardens’ beloved Christmas trail – is a souped-up light trail for scare season. We’re promised eerie illuminated trees, ghoulish installations, fire performers and more, with a troupe of actors on hand to stoke up our horrors (in a family-friendly way, of course). Twilight slots are between 6pm and 7.30pm, and things are definitely getting a bit scarier (ie darker). Moonlight slots run after 7.30pm when it should be fully dark.

The so-called ‘king of coloured photography’, William Eggleston made his name photographing roadside diners, suburban streets and domestic spaces across the USA, using dye transfer to bring the images to life. Through his striking, pioneering work, it’s easy to get a sense of the alienation, loneliness and desire that perforated the American Dream of the mid-twentieth century. This major exhibition will mark 50 years since his landmark book Willian Eggleston’s Guide was published, displaying some of his most iconic imagery alongside lesser-known deepcuts, including some taken pre-colour. 

Leave the children at home for this salacious ballet. For the past 40 years, Kenneth’s MacMillan’s three-act masterpiece, adapted from Abbé Prévost’s book ‘L’Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut’ has entranced audiences and divided critics.
The late choreographer’s ‘Manon’ has bite. A story of questionable morals – or lack thereof – has all the traits for a rich, dense production full of star-struck lovers, manipulative siblings, hedonistic antics, debauched seduction, shame and murder. The duets are beyond sublime, with statuesque lines and holds that will make you gasp for breath.